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Vietnam era choppers fly first timers and vets

TONY EASTLEY: Nearly four decades after the Vietnam War ended, the distinctive sound of Vietnam-era helicopters can still be heard most weekends in the US state of Georgia.

A dedicated band of volunteers and two fulltime mechanics keep more than a dozen of the aircraft flying, mostly at air shows and veterans' reunions, where they offer flights for first timers and old hands.

The sight and sound of the Vietnam choppers brings back memories, both good and bad.

Brendan Trembath reports from Georgia.

(Sound of a helicopter)

BRENDAN TREMBATH: A Huey helicopter painted US army green swoops over the woods outside Atlanta.

It's from a collection of historic aircraft operated by a volunteer group called Sky Soldiers.

One of pilots is Ike Isaacson.

IKE ISAACSON: Oh I've been flying for 20, 25 years myself and a lot of these guys here are Vietnam vets and they've been flying for 45 years, so you've got a wealth of experience flying around with you here today.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: It really has a distinctive sound, doesn't it?

IKE ISAACSON: That is the sound that you hear right now that defined a generation. When you hear that sound, I don't think there's anybody that doesn't think of the Huey and honestly the Vietnam War.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The pilots with Vietnam experience include Jim Brennan, who earned his wings in 1968.

Many of his missions were flying supplies to troops, sometimes after dark.

JIM BRENNAN: If somebody was in trouble at night and been in contact all day and ran out of beans and bullets, as we would say, then we would resupply them at night.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: He'd also fly troops into battle, including Australian commandos on a secret mission.

Jim Brennan smiles when he remembers one of the Australians.

JIM BRENNAN: The Australian was a really short guy. I don't know what his rank, they weren't big into rank, but he carried the biggest gun and the gun was as tall as he was.

JIM BRENNAN: No dog tags, ID, nothing like that. In the unlikely event you were shot down, we weren't there, so to speak.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Skip McAtee is a Vietnam veteran too. He was a door gunner.

SKIP MCATEE: It's a lot better now. It's fun, it's exhilarating and you don't have people shooting at you and you don't have to shoot at people.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The group's members all have one thing in common, a sense of satisfaction from preserving aviation history.

Nancy Points, a retired airline analyst, does whatever is required.

NANCY POINTS: I'm in charge of membership and also I do all the extra letters that need to come out sometimes you know, for a donation or tax purposes etc.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The president of the group, Ed Clark, went to flight school in 1979 and flew Huey helicopters in South Korea.

He loves seeing the faces of first time flyers.

ED CLARK: And they're just so excited and they're like, 'I gotta do this again, I gotta do this!' and we actually go to some shows where people are coming four and five times to take a ride with us.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: But for Ed Clark the most memorable passenger was a woman who flew to honour her son.

ED CLARK: We actually had a mother whose son was unfortunately killed in Vietnam and he was a door gunner and she just wanted to understand where did he sit in the aircraft. For her, you could see it was closure for her.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association says more than two and half thousand helicopter crew members were killed during the conflict.

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